A 51-year man has been handed a 12-month suspended sentence for the possession of child sexual abuse material in Kerry.
John Nelligan of Gortdromarillagh, Fries, Killarney but now living in Castleisland pleaded guilty to a sole charge of knowingly having had child pornography on his mobile phone , contrary to Section 6(1) of the Child Trafficking and Pornography Act, 1998, as amended by Section 14 of the Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Act, 2017, on the 26 April 2022 at Batterfield, Firies.
At Tralee Circuit Court, judge Ronan Munroe suspended the sentence for three years saying rehabilitation is in the public interest.
Judge Munroe said that John Nelligan was in his 40s at the time of the offence, he was a married father of two, and had ‘enjoyed success in business’.
He had joined a group on a messaging app in which child abuse material was discussed and shared.
Following a conversation with an individual in this group, Mr Nelligan received 30 unique images of child abuse; four of which were the worst type of abuse imagery: Category One.
Judge Munroe said that the duration of his activities was not known, but that the criminal evidence available proves fleeting possession, and that the images were not distributed.
On 22nd April 2022, Gardaí obtained a warrant to seize John Nelligan’s phone.
He was charged with the offence at Batterfield, Firies on the 26th April.
He had no previous convictions and the court heard that his marriage has suffered.
A psychosocial assessment of Mr Nelligan reported that he was initially defensive but was now displaying insights into his behaviour.
He is deemed at low risk of reoffending {scoring zero out of seven on the static scale and three out of 26 on the dynamic scale}.
He had shown no lack of concern and no signs of impulsivity.
The assessment recommended he continue to engage with a psychotherapist to get a better understanding of his own behaviour.
Judge Ronan Munroe highlighted that Mr Nelligan’s offences were at the top end of the lowest severity category.
Among the aggravating factors named by the judge were that John Nelligan did not merely stumble upon the material and had actively sought it out.
Mitigating factors included that he was at a low risk of reoffending, which justified a reduction of the sentence by one third, or six months to twelve months, and that he is facing up to traumatic issues experienced in the past.
Additional considerations influencing the court included that the files had been deleted from his phone.
Judge Munroe stated that it was important to remember that this was not a victimless crime, as behind every image there is a child victim.
Due to the gravity of the crime, a sentence of twelve months’ imprisonment was imposed, suspended for three years.
Conditions of the suspension included that Mr Nelligan must continue attending psychotherapy sessions and must submit to supervision by the Probation Service.
A destruction order for the images was granted to the DPP prosecuting barrister, Thomas Rice, barrister-at-law.
Judge Munroe warned that he would have no hesitation in triggering an immediate custodial sentence if any of the conditions were breached.
